LarryJosephUrban

Larry Joseph Urban passed away on Saturday April 19, 2014 at Avalon Nursing Home in Kirbyville after a long struggle with Alzheimers. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday April 23, 2014 at Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church in Woodville. Burial will be at Magnolia Cemetery in Woodville. Visitation will be at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at Stringer & Griffin Funeral Home in Woodville, with rosary to follow at 6:00 p.m. Larry was born December 5, 1930 to Lawrence Urban and Ida Werth Urban in Schoenchen, Kansas. He served in the Navy for 4 years during the Korean War and was a member of the VFW. He married his wife Rose Mary in 1957. He was an Engineer with the Boeing Company for 35 years, starting as a maintenance mechanic while attending college, then transferred into Engineering as a member of a test group doing noise level measurements in and around the B52 Bomber. In 1963, Larry, his wife Rose Mary, and family moved to Huntsville Alabama, where he helped set up the Simulation Center. Later, he became a member of the test group assigned to the Saturn V Dynamic Test Vehicle. In 1967 he transferred to Houston into the Test Integration and Evaluation (TIE) on the Lunar Module Program. In 1969 he joined the Apollo Sneak Circuit Analysis Group and became a part of the Incipient Failure Detection (IFD) Program and member of the Project Engineering Organization in Houston. Larry and Rose Mary fell in love with the Piney Woods of East Texas, so after he retired from Boeing, they moved to Spurger where he built their beautiful log home. He enjoyed wood-working and building toys for his grandchildren. Larry and Rose Mary shared many adventures traveling throughout the United States in their RV, and enjoyed camping. Larry is survived by his wife of 57 years, Rose Mary of Woodville; sons Larry Joseph Urban II of Santa Fe, Texas, Mark Allen Urban of Angleton, and Steven Wayne of Woodville; his daughters Deborah Gerac and her husband Peter Gerac of Dickinson, and Rebecca Gore of Woodville; his five grandchildren Shannon Gerac, Michelle Gerac, Rachel Gore, Brandon Gerac and Megan Gore, and one great grandchild, Travis Gerac. The family would like to express their thanks to the staff at Avalon Nursing Home in Kirbyville for the exceptional care they provided for Larry during his final months. He was dearly loved by his family and friends, and will be sorely missed.